


My Life, with You (In Which Lysithea and Claude are very much in Love)

by Willowlark



Series: Golden Dear [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Married Couple, Married Life, Post-Canon, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24277525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willowlark/pseuds/Willowlark
Summary: Post GD - Chapters inspired by a "Questions for your OTP" set of prompts, shameless fluff
Relationships: Lysithea von Ordelia/Claude von Riegan
Series: Golden Dear [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1456627
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

“Would you believe, that I can’t remember before we were together?” Lysithea says as Claude steps out of the shower. He wrings water out of his ear with a hand towel as he makes for the closet, passing Lysithea brushing her hair out at the vanity with an amused expression.

“My dear Lysithea, do you wish to go back?” He puts his hand on chest, in mock shock.

“Of course not, obviously.” She huffs. She’s quiet for a minute, before deciding to continue despite his jest. “Do you?”

Claude pauses, shirt in his hands. “Well… Hmm.” He pulls a shirt on over his head, and pants to go along with it. Lysithea waits in silence, watching him in the mirror’s reflection. “Parts of it. I teased you a lot more at Garreg Mach.”

“That’s what you remember?” Lysithea sighs. “Though I suppose you’re right. You never missed a chance to make me act like the kid I was.”

“In your defense, it was always a challenge!” He retorts with a grin, ducking his over Lysithea’s shoulder. She gives him a look in the mirror and he chuckles lightly. His hands come up, taking her brush from her and brushing her hair in her stead. She smiles softly, watching him do so in the mirror. It was an oddity, when he first offered, but he has a soft touch and being doted on is a very pleasant experience. 

“Still.” He continues. “Honestly, it’s hard for me too. So much happened in those years, between Garreg Mach, then the five years of the war… My mind was constantly going and somehow now it blurs together.”

“Most of your titles relate to the war and you don’t remember it?”

He chuckles. “It’s a blur, is all. I had so little time for anything but the dozens of schemes I needed to keep us all alive and win, so we could live in peace.” He peeks a look in the reflection, catching the pensive look on Lysithea’s face. “Time we spent together was a reprieve, you know.”

“Oh?” 

“Absolutely. When it came to the military matters, no one understood my plans faster than you. When it was personal… You were always straight with me.” He pauses mid stroke through her hair. “That’s a memory then. Do you recall, the night before we assaulted Enbarr?” He catches recognition in her eyes. “You found me outside of camp.”

“You were pacing, it was the first time I ever saw you pace.” 

“Yeah. I was so worried that Nadar wouldn’t come through. There was no reason to doubt, in hindsight… But everything rode on him showing up. There was no way to win without the additional forces. All my plans in case he didn’t show involved massive loss of life, and high risk to the Deer. From the outside our military looked unbeatable, sweeping into Enbarr like a Brigid storm…”

“And you couldn’t let anyone know your fears, less you break their morale.” He nods, a small thing that said more than hundreds of words. 

“And then you found me and glared through my deflections.” Lysithea gets a smug little smile at that. “So I told you I was worried my secret plan would fail.”

“‘Then you’ll make a new one, obviously.’” Lysithea says, in the same grumpy tone as Claude remembers it in his mind, said like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He leans forward and laughs.

“See, you do remember something!”

“I suppose I do. You were soooo worked up, I’d never seen you like that before. Worried sure, but never fearful. It was like you lost your confidence, even that false one you project all the time.” She snickers a little, and he has the gall to look hurt. As she starts to recall more about that night, her left hand resting over her right to rub the crest scar on the back of it.

“That really was the first time I ever saw you break down like that.” He goes to speak but she talks over him. “And I do mean breakdown lightly, it’s just an expression.” He winks, she rolls her eyes. 

“You were always the fearless leader, even after I figured out your easygoing confidence was an act. You had plans upon plans, you knew all of our abilities and we were a team. We’d have followed you down the path to hell itself if you asked, because we knew you’d bring us home and happier than before. We… I, was as important to you as your goals. So seeing you lose faith in yourself… I just spoke before I realized what I was doing. You’d have done the same for me and I wanted to be your support for a change.”

“You know, you always kind of were.” Claude muses. Lysithea makes to look at him but he stops her so her hair doesn’t shift. “Teach is amazing, obviously. She’s a phenomenal tactician and leads on a battlefield with a fervor none of us could match. But because she’s well, Teach… She didn’t see the point in going over the plans with a fine toothed comb, or god forbid a contingency plan.”

“That’s real confidence, right there” Lysithea teases. 

“Bordering on overconfidence I’d say.” 

“If she’s right every time, it doesn’t qualify as overconfidence.”

“Hush.” Claude says, chuckling at Lysithea as she sticks her tongue out at him via the reflection. “You, by contrast, would always review every detail of the plan as meticulously as I did, and if you thought there was an issue you told me point blank. It kept me thinking outside the box, never complacent. It was a good thing too.” Claude looks aside, shifting through memories. “At least three times I can recall Edelgard tried to exploit the same flaws you pointed out in the war room. If you didn’t say anything, we’d have been blindsided. Stubborn as she was was, she was a phenomenal commander.”

“… Lysithea? What’s that face?”

“I just… You always had a counter plan for anything I brought up. It was honestly frustrating at times, I never realized you improvised solutions as I brought them up.”

Claude closes his eyes, resuming brushing. “I told you I relied on you Lyssi. No matter how much you believed in me, you never gave me a free pass and dug into my schemes with a critical eye. Your approval was one of the things I needed to be confident in my plans. … Don’t tell Teach, but by the end of the war, it was you I wanted to talk to in the war room, not her.” He grins, in that lacksadaisy way he does that she loves. She stands up suddenly, pushing up on her toes to kiss Claude. His eyebrows shoot up, pleasantly surprised. She lightly pushes the two of them to the bed, Claude more than willing to oblige. 

Claude pulls Lysithea on top of him as he collapses back onto the bed, easily lifting her small frame. She lays on top of him, her hand on his chest and her lips on his own. His arms pull her tighter to him, sliding under loose hair to press softly against the small of her back. Enjoying the building passion between them, Claude makes to flip them over and do more than just kiss; but Lysithea moves first. She rolls to the side, his arm automatically wrapping around her shoulder to keep her close, and her shining look warmly at him. 

“I remember now.”

“Remember what, love?” 

Lysithea smirks a little. “Distracted are we?”

“Can you blame me?” He kisses her, and while her eyes roll she response in due kind. 

“I said before… I couldn’t remember what we were like, before we were together. I remember now.” Lysithea watches his eyes take in her face, her hair splayed across her shoulder and rumpled nightgown before roving back up to her. He quirks an eyebrow, as if to say he’s listening. She nestles deeper into his chest.

“It’s the banter that reminded me… We were always going back and forth. You were always so frustrating, teasing me about ghosts or besting me in classes. I blew up at you, in the green house the one time.”

“Oh, I forgot about that one.”

“You laid off for a bit after that, and I realized… I missed it. The constant challenges and the word play. It was fun, to cut loose like that. To goof around with someone my equal, to not have to be the best because there’d always be a next encounter…” 

Claude’s quiet. She glances up, seeing his eyes closed, a soft smile on his face. “I took a real interest in you, then. I had so much going on I shoved it down… but whenever we were together it was exciting. You could match me word for word, idea for idea, and I loved it.” He looks down. “I still do.” 

“And you know what? The answer was right in front of us the whole time.” Claude says with a wink. “What we were like before? Just like we are now. Best friends, allies, trusted confidants. Two people who rely on each other, through hell and high water, who care about each other more than themselves.” His eyes lid and his smile becomes a little smug. 

“Except now we do this” he says into her ear. He rolls over her, mouth seeking hers, and this time she has no interest in stopping him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was once asked "why do they like each other" when talking about Claude and Lysithea by someone who doesn't know the characters. The prompt here, "What was their relationship like before they got together" really pushed my difficulty in answering the question. It's not something I can easily put into words; it's... more a feeling? I just see them interact and feel it and then I just know it works. Hopefully, some of that feeling comes through ^^;;


	2. Chapter 2

The ballroom is… immaculate. True to the Gloucester family’s obsession with being the most Noble house of the alliance, the room wears it’s elegance like courtesan wears pearls. Each table, spaced carefully throughout the main floor, has its own decorative display of pastries on multi-tier silver trays. The table cloths are white, but not too white, trimmed with royal purple. Above the massive oak doors that the guests enter through, (with a red carpet and all), a balcony stretches over the southern, and half of the eastern and western walls. Those above can look down across the whole floor, though the northern Dias has no balcony above it. The balcony is supported with massive white columns that are adorned with live purple roses, clinging the columns as if it was natural. The Dias, at the north of the room, is decked in purples and reds, the throne of the Gloucester territory gold with a rose motif subtly worked in. 

All and all, the room screamed Lorenz like Raphael screamed anything. Claude already despised it. He sweeps into the room, Lysithea’s arm in his own as they enter the party. The doorman announced him as the King of Unification, which rose a self satisfied smirk to his face as they approach a table. Lorenz never liked that particular title, made it look like the Gloucester’s were beneath someone. 

Lysithea slips her arm out from his own, and he relaxes his posture. Being the King of Unification has some perks, and one of which is not caring quite so much about posturing and appearances at a party in allied territory (dare he say, a party held by a friend?). He takes in Lysithea as she, predictably, begins pursuing the treats on the platter. Her dress is a soft pink, barely pink but enough to compliment her lovely eyes. The grecian neckline draws his eyes to a lovely broach on her chest, at least till she turns towards a strawberry tart. Her arm length gloves compliment the dress well, and her hair flows freely behind her. An Almyrian pin, a gift from his mother, rests over her ear, pulling her hair back. 

All and all, Claude was a lucky man. Being here with the most beautiful woman alive makes even a party held by Lorenz tolerable. She turns, eyes glittering, and he leans in to hear anything she has to say. 

* * *

Lorenz’s father could declare independence from the Alliance right now and Claude would let him go without a moment’s hesitation. The man has been waxing poetic about the gallantry of the noble class for damn near a half hour, forcing all those at the banquet table to suffer his words. Claude, being the King of Unification, is of course seated up near him keep him from slipping out unnoticed either. The nobility be damned, the chef’s efforts are growing cold on the plates before them!

Claude reaches over, placing a hand on Lysithea’s thigh. She looks to him and sighs sympathetically, reading his mind with little effort. She turns back to Lord Gloucester as Claude pats her thigh, the contact doing something for his nervous energy. His love was always a calm in the storm… Unless… A sly smile rises to his face.

He shifts slightly, making to wrap his arm around Lysithea’s waist. Perhaps if they shared a seat, he’d be even more relaxed and he could tease her for it to boot. Happy with his truly perfect plan, he presses against her waist to pull her towards him… 

Only to have his hand feel like it’d been shoved into a block of ice. He pulls his hand back, nursing it under the table. Lysithea is glaring at him now, making it all too clear she intended to keep to her own seat. He smiles sheepishly, and her glare melts into a sigh. He winks, and she rolls her eyes as she returns to watch Lord Gloucester.

Thankfully for the assembled party, Lorenz spotted the lover’s antics. “Father,” he interrupts, standing from his seat on his Father’s right, “It would terribly unbecoming of the nobility to let such delectable food go to waste. Perhaps we should save the rest of your rousing story for drinks and dessert?” His Father quickly agrees and the final toast is made. Claude had never been more thankfully for Lorenz than he was at this very moment.

He reaches his hand out again, resting it on Lysithea’s thigh. She flashes him a quick smile, bright as the sun, before serving herself more sweet potatoes. 

* * *

Despite their best efforts, Claude and Lysithea were pinned after dinner, forced to listen to more of Lord Gloucester’s fantastic ideas for the alliance. With no Lorenz to bail them out, the Lord’s ideas grew more and more lengthy and detailed. Putting aside most of them were outdated and would never pass at the Alliance council, nor would Claude approve of such archaic, crest centric policies after knowing Sylvain and even Edelgard’s suffering, Lord Gloucester’s wine was clearly doing more of the talking than his mind. 

Claude had already slipped his arm around Lysithea’s waist earlier, holding her close as if they were dancing. He had hoped it would encourage Lord Gloucester to quiet and let the couple do just that, and even when that failed he at least had Lysithea close to him. Idly he shifts behind her, still engaging Gloucester with as fake a smile as he ever presented. He gives it a moment before leaning in, his head hovering over Lysithea’s shoulder. (And head, if he shifted slightly. He’ll have to tease her about that later.) His arms come around her waist, taking her own hands, clasped together before her in the most Marianne of postures, into his. He promptly begins to rub the scars on the back of her hands.

She looks aside at him, and he winks. She doesn’t find it amusing, he can tell. Blessedly, Lord Gloucester takes a hint this time, in his own way. 

“Look at the two of you, truly the future of the Alliance. Perhaps I should let you go, strut your stuff eh? Show the rest of us the future of the nobility?” Gloucester laughs as his own words (at least, Claude assumes, considering the man said nothing funny) and walks past them, patting Claude on the shoulder.

Claude lets her glare at him as he whisks her off to the dance floor, more than willing to ’strut his stuff’ if he gets to hold Lysithea while he does it. 

* * *

Lorenz insisted the Golden Deer stay at the castle after the party (those of them that attended, at any rate), claiming he’d love to spend more time with the Deer in the morning, without the stress of the event. Claude and Lysithea wander towards their room now, bodies warm from Riegan brandy and each other’s company. Lysithea leans against his arm now, her own wrapped around it. Neither are drunk, of course, but absolutely glowing in the wonderful night. 

They reach their door before long. Claude steps forward, making a show of opening the door for his wife. She plays along, curtsying before sweeping into the room. The bottom of her dress brushes his shoes and for some reason he can’t help but notice. He shakes his head slowly, closing his eyes. He basks in the joy, standing in the hallway like that for a moment. He rolls his shoulders, pulling the door closed as he steps into their room. 

Lysithea’s hand shoots out for his own, pulling him into the room as soon as the door lock clicks behind him. They flop next to one another on the bed, and she immediately slides close enough to press her lips to his own. His arms wrap around her automatically, his mind solely focused on returning Lysithea’s affections one hundredfold. 

They separate with flushed faces and out of breath. Lysithea rolls a top Claude, straddling his torso. She presses down on him, kissing him deeply. He shifts them up further on the bed, hands sliding down Lysithea’s back as hers pull at his jacket. “I have wanted to do this, all damn night” She breathes into his ear and it sends a shiver down his spine. She claims his lips again as he pulls her to him, silently swearing they won’t separate until the sun rises. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did not expect to get this out so quickly after the first prompt, but it wrote itself! (^^) 
> 
> This prompt is "Who is more physically affectionate?". Claude is more so generally, but when Lysithea is in a mood she doesn't hold back either. She's a little shyer about PDA I suppose? 
> 
> I didn't intend for Claude and Lysithea to not speak during the course of the party but I really liked the aesthetic of that so I ended up committing to it. I think it works really well given the prompt!
> 
> I actually skipped two prompts on the list, because other fics in this Golden Dear Series (the series this is a part of!) cover them, particularly "Entirety of my Life". Those prompts were "how did they get together" and "What is their future like?". The entire series is what their future is, as each fic is post GD and Entirety of my Life is exactly how they got together. Give them a read, if you like (^^)


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